Label Consciousness

Labels matter to me,  a lot. They can tell me all kinds of things about the product I am looking at. Take, for instance, the ingredients list. If there are more than 5 ingredients, the product is probably not very good for me. If there are ingredients I can't pronounce, the product is processed and certainly not very good for me. If the label says "made with organic ingredients" or "contains organic ingredients", 70% of the ingredients are organic. If the label says "organic" than at least 95% of the ingredients are organic. And if the label says "100% organic" than the ingredients are 100% organic. Nice!

Conventionally grown produce means that it has been sprayed with pesticides and grown with chemical fertilizers. Grapes, strawberries and bananas are heavily sprayed, so splurge on the organic stuff. Organic produce is not sprayed with pesticides and uses only natural fertilizers.

If the label says "all natural" that means nothing. It's an unregulated and meaningless claim. Water, fish and salt cannot be organic, so don't fall for that claim, either.  

Anything that is labeled organic cannot contain any genetically modified crops. If canola oil, corn oil, corn syrup, soy beans, tofu or any products containing corn, soy or canola don't say they are organic, there is an extremely high probability that they come from genetically modifed crops.